Youth exposure to violence prevention programs in a national sample
Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Child Abuse & Neglect
Abstract
This paper assesses how many children and youth have had exposure to programs aimed
at preventing various kinds of violence perpetration and victimization. Based on a national
sample of children 5–17, 65% had ever been exposed to a violence prevention program, 55%
in the past year. Most respondents (71%) rated the programs as very or somewhat helpful.
Younger children (5–9) who had been exposed to higher quality prevention programs had
lower levels of peer victimization and perpetration. But the association did not apply to
older youth or youth exposed to lower quality programs. Disclosure to authorities was also
more common for children with higher quality program exposure who had experienced
peer victimizations or conventional crime victimizations. The findings are consistent with
possible benefits from violence prevention education programs. However, they also suggest
that too few programs currently include efficacious components.
Description
item.page.type
Article
item.page.format
Keywords
bullying, crime, victimization, sexual assault, dating violence
Citation
Finkelhor, D., Vanderminden, J., Turner, H., Shattuck, A., & Hamby, S. (2014). Youth exposure to violence prevention programs in a national sample. Child abuse & neglect.